After news went out about the Drama Department costume shop technicians building scrubs for health care workers, the family of the original fabric donation was thrilled to hear how the fabric was being used. The fabric donation came 11 years ago from Susan Perley, previous owner of a fabric store in Vulcan, Alberta. Perley’s granddaughter, Kathy Perley, reached out to the Faculty of Fine Arts to let everyone know how special this would have been to her grandmother, knowing her fabric went to such a wonderful cause.
Coming full-circle, Perley’s great granddaughter Mackenzie Perley (BN ’18) is now a nurse. Her mother, Kathy, asked if there was any way Mackenzie could receive a pair of scrubs made from her great grandmother’s fabric. Of course, Teresa Heyburn, with a full heart and tears in her eyes responded as quickly as possible. On May 25, Teresa met Mackenzie and Kathy in Champion, ensuring social distancing measures, delivering the fabric, now as scrubs, back to the Perley family.
Perley’s family members took to social media to share their excitement. Heather Huseby said, “Wow! My Grandma would be tickled pink right now if she knew her fabric was being used to make all of these scrubs and scrub bags for frontline workers… This brought tears to my eyes as I know my Grandma would love this and right now she’s looking down and smiling from ear to ear!”
Another granddaughter, Naomi Perley shared her childhood memories of her grandmother’s fabric store. “I never could have imagined the fabric would eventually find purpose in these corona-times,” she said. “It is the loveliest tribute to my grandma’s memory that any of us who knew her could have hoped for.”